Shining Lights & Black Holes of 2007

Shining Lights of 2007

EthicsDaily and Bob Allen: “This controversial and explosive issue would not be receiving the attention it is now without the relentless coverage of EthicsDaily.com.” That’s a plain statement of truth. With over 58 articles and columns on Baptist clergy sex abuse in 2007, EthicsDaily continued to chronicle this story… and it didn’t back down.

ABC’s 20/20: They focused a national spotlight on the problem of Baptist clergy sex abuse. In addition to the trailer, you can see three excerpts of the 20/20 show here.

Baptist abuse survivors who contributed to the 20/20 program without being shown in the final product: Two additional Southern Baptist abuse survivors were interviewed on camera for the 20/20 program, but no part of their interviews made the final cut. Other Baptist abuse survivors spoke with a 20/20 producer by phone. These people engaged extremely painful conversations and went through the very difficult process of considering whether they were capable of speaking on camera. Some went to extra counseling to grapple with it. They got absolutely nothing for it, but they made a difference in helping the 20/20 producers see the extent of the problem and the need for shining a spotlight on it.

Rose French of the Associated Press: She uncovered the data: sexual abuse is as big a problem for Protestants as it is for Catholics. Of the Protestant churches whose data was included, Southern Baptists were the largest number.

8600 Southern Baptist messengers: They voted to instruct the SBC Executive Committee to study the feasibility of creating a database of convicted, confessed and credibly accused clergy. People in the pews have spoken; if only SBC officials would listen.

Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship: It provided a model for how faith groups with autonomous churches can still work together to protect against clergy-predators. It adopted a policy that allows for individuals to report abuse, creates a review committee, and keeps a file of credibly accused clergy.

SNAP leader Tim Fischer: He set up a new website for StopBaptistPredators.org and he did it with lightning speed. Need a website? Tim is amazing! He’s also a dad, husband, hockey fan, artist and a courageous clergy abuse survivor.

Black Holes of 2007

Roger “Sing” Oldham, vice-president of Southern Baptist Convention Relations: He told the press: “We’re looking at…how we can best, first of all, protect the autonomy of the local church, and second, protect the children, too.” In a single sentence, this paid SBC spokesperson revealed volumes about the tragically misplaced priorities of Southern Baptist leadership.

Frank Page, Southern Baptist president: He publicly labeled clergy rape and molestation victims as “opportunists.” Do you think he’ll ever have the decency to publicly apologize for such a “salt-in-the-wound” statement? This is the same guy who whined about how 20/20 didn’t show enough of his interview. I guess he figured 20/20 was supposed to provide him a pulpit. You didn’t hear any whining from the survivors who had no part at all of their painful interviews shown, did you?

D. August (“Augie”) Boto, general counsel for the SBC’s Executive Committee and vice-president for convention policy: After the 20/20 show, Boto defended and justified KEEPING the names of convicted clergy child molesters on the SBC’s online registry of ministers. This demonstrates a level of denial and blindness that’s impossible to exaggerate; yet, Boto is the man who advises the SBC committee that’s supposedly addressing clergy abuse. Is it any mystery why not much seems to get done? Only after still MORE media attention – an EthicsDaily article and a SNAP press release – did the SBC finally remove the convicted perps from its registry of ministers.

Will Hall, vice-president for news services of the SBC Executive Committee: He publicly suggested there had been only 40 incidents of Southern Baptist clergy sex abuse in the past 15 years. This was a bald distortion of SNAP’s statement that it had been contacted by 40 Baptist abuse survivors in just 6 months time. And it’s shocking that a paid SBC spokesperson would publicly downplay the problem to such an extent. Which kids’ abuse just wasn’t important enough to even count? Hall owes a public apology.

Baptist General Convention of Texas: It did a masterful spin job in claiming it was making it easier for churches to report abuse. But lawyers could readily see that what the BGCT was really doing was minimizing its own risk of potential liability. The BGCT was protecting itself, not protecting kids. It’s bad enough that the BGCT does diddly-squat to effectively address clergy sex abuse, but for the BGCT to spin that diddly-squat into braggadocio is pure illusion. And…the BGCT’s secret file of ministers reported for sex abuse is still kept secret; people in the pews aren’t told.

Doug Devore, executive director of Illinois Baptist Children’s Home services: He used “Baptist Children’s Home” letterhead to write a letter to a judge, urging no prison time for a convicted clergy child molester, and to this day, he stands by that decision and can’t even acknowledge that it was a mistake. With role models like this in Illinois Southern Baptist leadership, is it any wonder that churches like First Baptist of Romeoville think it’s OK to have a convicted child molester in the pulpit?

Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, former Southern Baptist president, and former president of Criswell College: He mentored pastor Darrell Gilyard, who has recently been accused of sending obscene text messages to an underage teen. Now we learn that numerous college students say they previously tried to report Gilyard’s sexually abusive conduct but Patterson told them “to refrain from speaking” about it. The Dallas News reported that over 25 women in 4 different churches complained about Gilyard. How many women would it take before a Southern Baptist president would treat their complaints seriously?